Preventing Tangles and Matting In Your Dog
When it comes to your dog’s health and wellbeing, there’s no doubt that grooming plays an essential role. It can help improve their quality of life while also keeping them happy, healthy, and comfortable in their own skin.
Unfortunately, certain issues can arise due to inadequate or lack of grooming. Problems such as tangles and matting can occur if certain breeds of dogs are not brushed regularly.
In this blog post, I will explain the importance of brushing your dog, what equipment to use to avoid tangles and matting, and my top tips on keeping your dog’s coat healthy.
Tara Murphy, Professional Groomer
Tara started working in Petmania in 2008 and has had many achievements along the way. She completed her City and Guilds Professional Dog Grooming exams and achieved a Diploma. Not too long after, she entered a IPDGA competition where she placed 4th in the Open Clipped Class. She is also a qualified Canine First Responder Instructor and delivers this class to groomers within Petmania. After working as a groomer for 7 years, she started the Petmania Grooming Academy in Petmania Kilkenny in 2015. Today she is an integral part of the Petmania Grooming Team.
Why Is Brushing My Dog Important?
If you don’t brush your dog’s coat, it can get very matted and often tangled. This can cause a series infections and skin irritations, which may lead to your doghaving to be shaved down to let his skin breathe. This can add a lot of unnecessary pain, stress and anxiety for your dog, so it is always best to avoid this practice where possible.
Brushing your dog’s hair every day is a must to prevent these nasty knots, tangles, and matting. Not only this, but it’s a great way to spend some quality, relaxation time with your four legged friend-a win-win!
If you have a puppy, I would recommend starting to brush his hair daily from a young age, to get him used to the sensation which will make it much easier as she gets older. However, do not panic if you have an older dog-it may take them a bit longer to get used to the sensation, but it’ll be worth it knowing you are protecting his skin and coat for the better.
What causes a dog’s hair to get matted?
There are many ways your dog’s fur can get matted. It is easy for the knots and matted texture to get out of control if you do not carefully clean and look at your dog’s fur. The most common reasons for knots or matted fur are dirt, weeds, a lack of brushing and professional grooming, bathing, the coat being too long to maintain, and sticky substances.
Essential Equipment
Depending on what type of coat your dog has, you will mainly be using one of the following brushes:
This is a thin bristled brush which is designed to maintain a dog’s coat by brushing out and preventing matts and tangles. It can come in different variants so we recommend catering to your dog’s age or specific breed when choosing a slicker brush for example we recommend a soft tipped slicker brush for puppies due to their delicate skin.
When you’re using a slicker brush, you’ll want to part the area you want to tackle first and then brush root to tip, and to do it in layers (line brishing). Do this a few times until it glides through and go over it with a comb to ensure that there are no tangles.
Comb
The next type of brush is a comb. Combs can also be found in a lot of pet households and again can be used on all long haired dogs. Using a comb after a brush through with your slicker brush is a great way to do a final check for knots and tangles.
Massage Brush
The next brush is a massage brush. This can be used on shorter or thin haired dogs when they are wet. It massages them as they are being brushed to stimulate their oil glands but also relaxes them and desensitises them to the grooming process.
Brushing Your Dog
- The first step to brushing your dog’s coat is to run your fingers through the coat. This will get your dog used to the sensation, and will also help you to identify any problems before you start brushing.
- Start with the trouble spots first such as ears, tail and legs. Legs are the most common area to matt first and people often forget to brush this area. Parting the hair, brush from root to tip, working through any tangles gently but firmly.
- Once you have brushed the trouble areas, continue to brush through the rest of the body, again, parting the hair and brush in the direction of the coat growth.
- When the whole body has been brushed with your slicker brush, take your comb and comb through the hair to check that you haven’t missed any tangles
What Happens if my Dog Gets Wet?
Getting out for a walk, run or swim is important to help keep your dog fit and healthy, but if your dog’s hair gets wet, it’s essential that you dry it straight away and give it a really good brush through afterwards. This will prevent matts forming. If matts form on the coat, we may need to cut the hair very short to remove them.
What Else Can Prevent Tangles & Matting?
- Brush and comb your dog as often as needed per breed (some dogs everyday, some once a week)
- Have your dog professionally groomed every 6 to 8 weeks, or 4-6 weeks if your dog is curly/wavy coated. You can book a groom in our grooming studios by visiting the link here.
- When washing your dog at home make sure all product is washed out before drying, as this can cause skin issues.
Book a Groom
If you are looking to get your dog groomed, we offer grooming services in all of our stores across Ireland. We provide a Standard Groom which includes a standard wash & dry, nail trim, ear clean, eye clean and a breed standard haircut. We also have a range of other treatments available that can help keep your dog’s coat and skin stay in top condition.
For double coated dogs, our deshedding package is very popular. We use a special therapy mud to moisturise their skin and thoroughly go through the coat with a deshedding brush which can help reduce shedding by up to 90%.
If you would like to book your dog in for a groom, you can book online or call your local Petmania store to see what your options are.
